Recycled review from Director's Cut:

As if Sucker Punch didn't already put Ubisoft to shame with last year's release of GoT, they went and did it twice in a row this year with a cut that added an expansion and more things to the game in a way that made it better than last time how Ubisoft wish they could with all of their DLCs as of late.

Started and finished the Iki Island story line on day one of release it was that good, dare I say the story was even better than that of the Tsushima story in some areas. Seeing an in depth analysis of Jin's father and the people who killed him was exciting to see and something I wanted in a potential sequel.

Aside from that, the Director's Cut improves on everything else. There's now lock-on in combat which will make the combat that more easier for people who had struggles with the camera work beforehand. There are new animations and ways to do things in combat and in parkour/stealth, and personally the colour scheme aesthetic for me is also improved, everything fits the black, white and gold theme now in the button prompts. You are also able to replay camps/duels which is something fans wanted for awhile, giving you more to do in your free time when there's nothing else to do.

Other additions I really liked was the ability to charge at enemies on your horse, the addition of the flute as a duel sense mechanic and being able to pet deers, cats and monkeys alike.

Overall, a solid cut and DLC expansion. Hope Sucker Punch continues with this franchise because it's definitely the magnum opus for PlayStation exclusives in my opinion.

Overall: Iki Island is more of the same from Ghost of Tsushima with a few wrinkles, but nonetheless is worthwhile for anyone who enjoyed the main game.

Pros: Same outstanding presentation and open world exploration, new side events such as archery contests and animal songs, combat gets a few new wrinkles, strong storytelling.

Cons: Not enough new content for those who got 100% of the main game complete and had extra resources & skill points.

The DLC to Ghost of Tsushima really surprised me. Its story was a psychological adventure through the mind of Jin Sakai, exploring his past and his journey of forgiveness for the death of his father. Iki Island was a fun 4th area to explore, with vivid landscapes and even more wildlife that adds so much to the world. The new animal sanctuaries were also GOATed as now you can pet cats. It's truly adorable. The side quests also felt more engaging here, as many of them came with compelling stories and decisions that felt impactful to Jin's morals. The gameplay here is just as good as the original game, with stealth still not being a truly engaging way to play, as I found myself sticking to my sword as a one-man army instead of playing as a ninja. Still, Iki island is a fun DLC that really adds a lot to the lore of Jin and his life.

I has been some time since i last played GoT, it took me some time to get back in the groove, i love the game when it release and this DLC expands more on the backstory of Jins dads death and how he blames himslef for not veing able to help his dad. If you like the main game you are going to love this DLC, is more of the same but they have added extra activities to comple, i was ok with the proce of yhe DLC, got it during the black sale, im removing a star as uou need to pay extra to get the PS5 upgrade. I hope we get to see another game like this in the future.

I'm focusing mainly on the Iki Island DLC here. For the strengths and weaknesses of the actual game, read this:
https://www.backloggd.com/u/pali/review/608138

This addon is a great addition to the main game. The environment and atmosphere are still fantastic and there are a few new mini-games and more optional collectables. Especially the shrines which give you armour reminiscing of other Playstation titles are neat. But the best thing is the story. Lowkey, it is just another island that is attacked by Mongols. But this time they bring some sort of poison with them trying to subdue the Iki inhabitants. Jin is struggling here even more with the loss and earlier actions of his father which happened on this very island. Will Jin follow in his father's footsteps or will he weave his own destiny? Another adventure of trust, strangers, old and new friends and blood-thirsty enemies is about to happen. If you liked the main game then Iki Island will expand your gaming experience greatly. It is more of the same and better.

Just as all DLC, it's not as grand as the main story. Nor are its side quests as inventive as the base game's side quests, but there's truly compelling character development here dealing with trauma, guilt, and ending cycles of violence. I cried at the end because Jin's story here is so touching. Iki island's distinct, slightly more tropical vibe and varied wildlife was also fun and refreshing. I got all the trophies and officially put this game away after about 76 hours. Such a smooth, cinematic, impeccable gaming experience that I'll never forget.

Honestly, the quality of this DLC made me question if I just judged the main game too harshly. I really liked Ghost of Tsushima, but it read to me more like a good game and not a great one. Iki Island, though, was great.

There's definitely still some of the issues here I had with the main game. Controls for combat and platforming are still a bit clunky, and some visual elements don't look super great despite the fantastic art design.

Besides that though, I don't really have much to complain about here. The new story was awesome, giving us a new epic tale while also delving further into Jin's past. The new open world elements were a welcome breath of fresh air and were very fun to seek out and complete. We also got some returning favorites from the main game, and the sidequests, especially the Legendary Tales, were high quality as always. We even got a new mechanic with the horse charge which was super fun to use!

Overall, this is a sizable but not overwhelming expansion to Ghost of Tsushima. If you liked the base game, you really owe it to yourself to play this as it's pretty much everything you would ever want in an expansion. I would even say it takes a nice step forward for the game itself.

Played on PS5 via PS Plus
Also Available on PS4
Playtime: 9 Hours
Completion Date: July 17 2022
No Spoilers For the DLC or Main Game

Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island is the first and most likely the only story expansion to Ghost of Tsushima. It's an action/adventure open world game developed by Sucker Punch Productions and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment.

Our story begins in the island of Tsushima. Jin Sakai, our main character, sees a village in need of help. He goes and investigates what happened. A new tribe of Mongols called The Eagle Tribe started capturing Iki Island. Jin thinks it's dangerous to let them capture Iki Island because they may come to Tsushima afterwards. So Jin decides to travel to Iki Island and stop The Eagle Tribe. Though unfortunately, Jin and Iki has a dark past.

The story is pretty good. Interestingly, we get a lot more about Jin's past in the DLC. Both in the main story and the side content. This does not feel like a side story at all. It feels it is required content to understand the world of this game going forward. Which is definitely a good feeling.

Because there is a new island, there are also new characters. I tried to find the english voice cast for the DLC characters but couldn't find them unfortunately. But all of them did a great job. Especially the villain, Eagle. Let's start with her.

Eagle is definitely better than Khotun Khan in the main game. You don't see her too much but you hear her. Don't want to give any spoilers so will leave it at that. She knows a lot about Jin which makes her terrifying. We have also 2 important new allies. Tenzo and Fune.

Both are great. But we see Tenzo a lot more and he definitely has a more important role to play. He and Jin doesn't trust each other first. And their relationship is dynamic. When someone does something, the other gets hurt or likes it. It's a relationship that goes up and down, just like how it is in the real life. It's not a straight line going from enemy to friend.

One final thing about the story is it's place in the timeline. I think it depends on the player. Because while you can travel to Iki starting with the Act 2 of the main game, i travelled it after i finished the whole main game and characters talked about the ending. So i am not sure. But i highly recommend you to play this after you finish the main story. Because it's harder and i think this being after the main story makes much more sense.

So story and characters are great. That's a good start. What about the gameplay? Well, it's actually the same. For better and worse. Let's talk about that difficulty thing. The Eagle Tribe definitely includes the hardest enemies of the game. And the final boss, oh my god. That was really hard. Took many attempts.

There is a new enemy type. Shaman. These should be your first target when you enter combat because they buff the other enemies, and they buff them hard. Without taking out the shamans, you don't deal much damage to other enemies and all of the enemies does that red, unblockable attack.

But as a player who got all of the skills and did everything in Tsushima, it wasn't that hard. Still, far from Souls difficulty. There is also a new skill. It's horse charge and it can be useful sometimes.

The combat is pretty much the same except the things i discussed. There is nothing new in stealth or ranged combat. Let's look at missions. There are 9 new main missions. Main story is short but sweet. Very sweet. There are many side missions. They are good but i have one key problem with them.

I don't know why but all of the side missions does not appear on your map or your mission log. There are 5 unwritten tales and some of the written tales, aren't written at all. If you will go for the trophy, you will 100% need to use a guide to finish all side missions. It was ridiculous.

There are 2 new mythic tales. They were definitely the best side content of the main game. And these 2 are great as well. One of them is a great story about Jin's past. That one has lots of platforming. While the other one is a standalone story, focusing on exploration and combat. Had a great duel at the end as well.

Question marks are back. No fox dens, that was great. More bamboo, more hot springs, lighthouses, enemy camps and i think there was only 1 new shrine. These are the returning activities. But on top of this, there are 3 new activity types.

One of them is called animal sanctuary. It's a new, nice mini game. You need to tilt your controller to follow a path which will create a music. This will make the surrounding animals happy and you will be able to pet them. There are cats, deers and monkeys. These also gives some background about Jin's mother.

There are archery challenges. Nothing special, it's what it is. Though it's tough, it's also fun. And there is the third one. I don't want to spoil anything, they are really good. Let me just say this. They will give more background about Jin's father.

The game looks and sounds great. It also plays great. I played it on PS5, 60 FPS from start to finish. Did not feel any frame drops. And it was definitely less buggy then the main game. Which was great. For trophy hunters, it's a short, sweet list, just like the DLC itself. But like i said, some side missions not showing in the map causes problems. You will need to use a guide. It took me 9 hours to get both the story trophies and the exploration trophies.

Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island is more Ghost of Tsushima. The story and characters are great. The gameplay is good too but i definitely started getting bored towards the end. Because while the main game constantly gave you new skills and enemy types, Iki Island just throws more enemies at you. New side missions and activities are also great.

In the end, it's a DLC. It does the job. It's more of what you got in the main game. Is it worth the price? I am not sure. But i'm sure that you at least need to experience the main story. It expands on Jin in great ways.

Iki Island is a story expansion to the main game and forms part of the Director's Cut version of the game. The game follows Jin as he explores the dark secrets of Iki Island and how it links to his families past. This story DLC improves on the original game in almost evey aspect and as a result is one of the best story expansions to a video game ever made.

The game benefits from the smaller open world allowing for a more compact and fulfilling story learning about Jin's fathers legacy and the scars it left behind. The main villian in the DLC is the Eagle, who unlike the Khan, is more than a one dimensional villan and alongside some other new characters helps Jin explore his past.

Even the open-world aspects which were seriously lacking in the original title feel meaningful and important. The side missions finally had a bit of variety with the Ghost of Iki Island being a fun mission with a recognisable face. Activities feel vital to the story with them including flashbacks with your father, new interesting mythic tales and dyes that celebrate Playstation IP.

Finally, they somehow made Iki Island even more visually stunning as Tsushima and added to the already amazing gameplay options. This DLC addresses almost all of my concerns with the original title and produced a rich and impactful story to boot.

Far from the worst expansion I've ever played but definitely not the most inspired one either. Iki Island is the very archetype of a DLC. It's just more. On the one hand, that means more of Sucker Punch's gorgeous environments and slick, stylish combat, which is always a good thing. But it also means clearing out more enemy-infested strongholds and slicing through another set of bamboo stands, which if you fully completed the main game, you're almost certainly burnt out on (at least there are no fox dens this time, dear god).

The story set up is competent; as with the main game, Sucker Punch's weakness is finding compelling narrative beats to fill the second act with, but the first and third acts are an engaging mix of stunning set pieces and epic showdowns. The more we get of Jin, the more it seems like Sucker Punch is turning him into samurai Batman, which I won't lie, goes hard. I guess this is sort of like his Scarecrow chapter, with several trippy flashback scenes that give Jin some much-needed depth. It would've been nice to see these fleshed out into entire full-length sequences, but what we got is a worthwhile addition to the core storyline.

But yeah, all in all, it's fine. If you liked Ghost of Tsushima and you weren't finished with it after beating the main campaign, this is basically just a handful of new activities to whet your appetite. Is it an essential revisit? For the price, no. But if you're exploring PlayStation Extra and you're like, oh yeah, I liked slicing dudes up on a scenic island while the hottest tunes ever serenaded me, then jump back in and give it a go.